Arsenal Women Squad Review

The WSL transfer window has now closed and Arsenal have conducted the following business.

In: Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona), Daphne van Domselaar (Aston Villa), Rosa Kafaji (BK Hacken)

Out: Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City), Sabrina D’Angelo (Aston Villa), Kaylan Marckese (Tampa Bay Sun), Gio (Atletico Madrid), Cloe Lacasse (Utah Royals), Michelle Agyemang (Brighton- season loan), Teyah Goldie (London City Lionesses- season loan).

Let’s look at what that means for the squad

GOALKEEPERS

Manu Zinsberger is now the senior goalkeeper in the group, her new contract during the middle of last season was not a reward but an investment- because that is how contracts work! At 28, Zinsberger has well over 200 top flight appearances for Bayern Munich and Arsenal now and has over 100 caps for Austria. She is incredibly experienced and is still not in what are usually considered the peak years for a goalkeeper.

Manu has seen off the challenge of Sabrina D’Angelo, who left for Aston Villa, as she saw off Pauline Peyraud-Magnin and Lydia Williams before her. But the situation is different now because her challenger is younger than her. That pitches Zinsberger as the outright senior member of the goalkeeping group but van Domselaar is Netherlands’ number 1 and hasn’t come to Arsenal to get a nice view from the dugout.

This will be the stiffest test of Zinsberger’s credentials because while van Domselaar has some development points, her ceiling is incredibly high. At 24 her best years are ahead of her and Arsenal have to work out how to aid her development while she perhaps doesn’t start every single game (she will surely start plenty however). Naomi Williams will continue to be third choice and observe her senior colleagues at close quarters before probably going out on loan next summer (she doesn’t turn 20 until October).

DEFENCE

For the right-back position, Arsenal are well set with January signing and USA first choice Emily Fox, who is surely one of the best right-backs in the world, with Laura Wienroither, who signed a new deal this summer, supporting and competing with her. Fox played every game in the USA’s gold medal campaign at the Olympics this summer, so will need some sort of rest in the first half of the season. Wienroither is an excellent rotation and back up option.

At centre-half, Leah Williamson is the obvious mainstay with Laia Codina and Lotte Wubben-Moy duking it out for the left centre-half spot. Wubben-Moy took her chance last summer when Rafaelle left and Williamson was injured and became such a mainstay that she won the player of the season award and was voted into the PFA Team of the Season.

This summer, a foot injury for Lotte, who is in the final year of her contract, has opened the door for Spanish defender Laia Codina, who was sidelined by Lotte’s form in 2023-24. At the moment, Codina’s performances mean she will keep the shirt until performances or injuries dictate. But nobody is going to play every game next season. The fight for the spot next to Williamson is among the most fascinating battles in the squad.

Academy product Katie Reid impressed sufficiently since returning from loan at Watford in March for the fourth choice position. That position will be reviewed in January, when Amanda Ilestedt might be close to a return and another loan spell might suit Reid. Steph Catley can also play capably as a left-sided centre-half. Arsenal’s left-back options are as they have been since 2020-21, with Katie McCabe (who can also play on the wing) and Steph Catley sharing and fighting for that role.

MIDFIELD

Another area of fascination this season. Kim Little and Lia Walti has been Arsenal’s de facto double pivot since Walti joined the club in 2018. Little turns 35 at the end of this season and Walti is 31 and both players have suffered with injury in recent seasons. Victoria Pelova’s ACL injury means she will be missing for most of the season.

That presents an opportunity for summer 2023 signing Kyra Cooney-Cross who, like Laia Codina, had to be patient last season. The Gunners tried to bring Keira Walsh to the club for the second summer running to no avail. It remains to be seen how the campaign goes for Kathrine Kuhl, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Everton.

It is still not clear whether Kuhl is an 8 or a 10 or where she fits in Arsenal’s system but when she went on loan in January, we were always told it was with a view to being part of the squad this season. It will be interesting to see whether she is considered as part of her double pivot, as a 10 or maybe even as another wide option (she played the pre-season friendly against Chelsea from the right when Mead pulled out in the warm up).

In the 10 position, Frida Maanum and Rosa Kafaji are the two bona fide options. I imagine they will rotate fairly evenly initially, both players bring very different qualities to the role, with Maanum’s power and shooting ability, while Kafaji is more of a ‘street’ footballer with a through ball and the tricks and flicks to bamboozle defences. I suspect Kafaji will play a super sub role initially but Maanum and Kafaji is another really intriguing battle within the squad.

Miedema’s departure has left a space for Maanum to replicate more of her 2022-23 campaign and less of her 2023-24 campaign. Kafaji brings a bit of devil and unpredictability in possession that Arsenal lacked last season as they too often floundered against low defensive blocks. Kafaji brings fantasy to Arsenal’s approach play.

FORWARDS

Arsenal have had a bit of a clear out here, with Cloe Lacasse leaving after one season in search of more game time. Michelle Agyemang gets a solid WSL loan to prove herself and to develop, while Gio’s permanent exit has been inevitable for some time. Mariona Caldentey comes into the forward line in what should have been considered one of the headline deals of the summer.

The proximity of her reported arrival (by us…) with Miedema’s departure overshadowed what an exciting capture this is. Mariona is a 28-year-old who was a regular starter for Barca and a key figure in two Champions League winning and one World Cup winning squad. But more than that, she brings a sense of creativity and unpredictability of movement that, again, Arsenal’s attack lacked too often last season.

Her presence also means that Caitlin Foord no longer needs to play every minute of every game and this is the most significant challenge to the Australian’s starting position since her arrival, though she is comfortable playing on the right too. But in that role, Beth Mead remains one of Arsenal’s untouchables as an undisputed supplier of regular end product.

The big unknown is Lina Hurtig, who has been missing through a mixture of injury and personal reasons since her arrival in the summer of 2022. We have yet to see much of her in an Arsenal shirt and cannot be sure whether her injury troubles are behind her. Freya Godfrey remains with the squad as a further wide option but with Lacasse having departed, if Hurtig continues to experience fitness issues it looks like a potential pinch point in the squad.

Upfront Arsenal are blessed with depth with Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius. There cannot be a better second choice centre-forward in the league than Blackstenius and she will play a significant part in the season, starting plenty of games and coming on in any game where she is not starting. However, Arsenal’s finishing was also not at title winning level last season and there will be focus on the strikers and their ability to finish chances, especially against low defensive blocks this season.